Friday, January 1, 2016

2016: Kinder to Me, Kinder to Others

As 2015 came to a close, I discovered that my most liked instagram photos from the year weren't really my work, but representative of a community project I organized. The Low Volume Plus Swap Quilt and swap was a smash hit! I sorted 1,758 scrappy quilt blocks, mixing and redistributing them among 77 quilters. This was a much bigger job than I'd anticipated, but I have really enjoyed seeing instagram pics of the finished quilts you all have made. Hooray for us!

I also helped my quilt guild collect 1,058 NICU smocks for charity, and our project made the news.

Janelle and I wrote a book, On the Go Bags, with projects from even more of the online sewing community.

I wrote lots and lots of blog posts and marketing copy. I edited a few books. I worked from home while being the primary caretaker for our son, almost two. I grocery shopped with a toddler. I branched out and cooked some new meals. (Thanks Crock Pot!) My husband and I took some fun trips to Cape Cod and other places we'd never been, and carved out time for date nights when we could have easily worked or watched TV.

In 2015, I worked toward overcoming anxiety. So much healing came from sharing my story, and hearing your stories. There are some remnants. Still, I can see a remarkable difference 365 days later, and realize that the counseling, regular exercise, the books I've read and my community have all played a part. I am so grateful.

In spite of all these great things, I became totally obsessed with a few negative online comments over Christmas break. For at least 24 hours, I let the negativity overshadow all the good. I've fallen prey to this on more than one occasion.

Brene Brown, in her book Daring Greatly, talks about our culture of scarcity. We tend to focus on what we lack rather than what we have. She writes:

"We wake up in the morning and we say, 'I didn't get enough sleep.' And we hit the pillow saying, 'I didn't get enough done.' We're never
thin enough, extraordinary enough, or good enough – until we decide that
we are. For me, the opposite of scarcity is not
abundance. It's enough. I'm enough. My kids are enough."

The thread that ties us together? We are in this together. In 2016, I resolve to be kinder to myself and kinder to others. Not one of us is perfect. I'm definitely not. But I'm going to talk to myself like I would to someone I love. Let's find ways to support and really encourage each other in this new year.

4 comments:

I'm so very sorry that some people felt the need to leave you negative comments. Why say anything at all if you can't say something nice? I just don't get some people. Anyway, congrats on all that you achieved last year and I hope that 2016 is good to you.